LAHORE - The 5th and 8th class examinations to be conducted by the Punjab Examination Commission have been made compulsory for all students of government and private schools. Now all students of government and private schools are liable to appear compulsorily in the examinations to be held next year in February 2011. The 5th and 8th class examinations of the year 2010 have been held and only those students will be allowed admission in the 6th and 9th classes starting from April 2010 who have qualified these examinations. Similarly the admission in 6th and 9th classes from the year 2011 will also be allowed only to those who will qualify these examinations. Hitherto the 5th and 8th class examinations were held only to evaluate the quality of education and learning capacity of the students while there was no fail or pass system attached to these examinations. As such there was no hurdle in the way of students to go to next higher classes who could not qualify these examinations. For the purposes of promotion, the school administration itself conducted annual examination for the promotion of students to next higher class. The Punjab Examination Commission was given the status of a statutory examination Board on the pattern of secondary Boards last week and now the 5th and 8th class examination made compulsory. The Punjab school education department in a notification has maintained that all the government schools, Punjab Education Foundation schools and private schools from primary to higher secondary level, without any exception are required to observe the PEC examination schedule. The PEC examinations previously held were generally MCQs. The new policy did not unfold as to what would be the style of new examinations to determine fail and pass of students. Whether it will be based on subjective and objective or both and whether the previous style of questions papers will be followed? The new policy further states that the Executive District Officers (Education) will be exclusively responsible for smooth conduct of the examinations and fair marking of answer sheets, free from all kinds of mal-practices. They will be responsible for arranging halls, furniture, drinking water and functional toilets facilities for the examination centers. As far as possible examination centers for Grade-V and Grade-VIII Examinations will be established in High and Higher Secondary Schools. Elementary and Primary School can only be considered, if there is no High School in the vicinity. The standard strength of a center will be between 200 to 300 candidates. In urban areas, the centers of less than 200 shall not be established. Only in exceptional cases in rural areas, centers can be established for 100 females. These centers will be given permanent status. The notified examination centers will not be changed without prior approval of the Punjab Examination Commission. Marking of answer-sheets will be carried out in other tehsil, town of the same districts so that tehsils are not interchanged.